Sponsors (4)
The bill expands health-plan choice for service‑connected veterans by allowing TRICARE Select enrollment and standardizing cost-sharing, but does so by moving care out of the VA system and creating fiscal and administrative trade-offs that could limit access for veterans and their families and strain VA resources.
Veterans with service-connected disabilities can enroll in TRICARE Select during open enrollment, giving them an additional mainstream health plan option beyond VA care.
Veterans experience more predictable cost-sharing because enrollment under TRICARE Select is standardized under 10 U.S.C. §1075(d)(1), reducing variability in out-of-pocket costs.
Taxpayers and veterans benefit from a required memorandum of understanding (MOU) for VA to reimburse DoD, which clarifies which agency pays for care and helps limit unfunded interagency cost-shifting.
Veterans who enroll in TRICARE are barred from VA patient enrollment and VA-provided care while enrolled, which can restrict access to VA services and continuity of care they currently rely on.
VA may need to reimburse DoD for these enrollments, which could divert VA funds away from other veteran services and programs.
Shifting veterans from VA to TRICARE could increase administrative complexity and transition costs, potentially delaying care during the changeover for veterans and health systems.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Permits certain VA-enrolled veterans with service-connected disabilities to elect TRICARE Select during open enrollment, pauses VA medical care while enrolled, and sets cost-sharing and interagency reimbursement rules.
Official title: To amend title 10, United States Code, to provide eligibility for TRICARE Select to veterans with service-connected disabilities, and for other purposes.
Introduced January 9, 2025 by W. Greg Steube · Last progress January 9, 2025
Allows certain veterans with service-connected disabilities who are enrolled in VA patient enrollment to elect TRICARE Select coverage during the annual TRICARE open enrollment period, displacing concurrent VA-provided care while enrolled in TRICARE, and sets rules for cost-sharing, reimbursement between VA and DoD, implementation timing, and reporting requirements.